Did Detroit Lions draft wrong quarterback in Matthew Stafford?

AP PhotoLions quarterback Matthew Stafford throws during the first quarter against the Green Bay Packers at Ford Field in Detroit on Thursday.

Don't get me wrong. I am far from giving up on Matthew Stafford.

He has the potential to be a very good quarterback, but there are certainly no guarantees. But in the wake of this weekend's NFL game, I think it is fair to play a little of the "what if" game.

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What if the Lions decided to draft Aaron Curry or Jason Smith with the No. 1 pick and, in a draft where it was easy to trade up, were able to move up from the No. 20 pick and take a quarterback? And, what if that quarterback was Kansas State's Josh Freeman?

I know it is very early in their respective careers, but the performance of Freeman in Sunday's Tampa Bay loss in Atlanta had my weird mind wondering if Freeman is going to be a better quarterback than Stafford.

Freeman was 20-for-29 with two touchdowns and no interceptions and had a quarterback rating of 118.5. He is mobile and, although he does not have the rifle arm of Stafford, he does have more touch.

Thus far, in fewer games, Freeman has seven touchdowns and five interceptions, while completing 55 percent of his passes with a quarterback rating of 76.5. Stafford, on the other hand, has 12 touchdowns and 18 picks with a completion percentage of 54 and a quarterback rating of 62.4.

I know this is all hypothetical and maybe the price to move up the three or four spots needed to pick Freeman ahead of Tampa Bay would have been too high, but it is fun to wonder if, once again, the Detroit Lions screwed up at the games most important position.

As a Lion fan, would you rather have Aaron Curry and Josh Freeman or Matthew Stafford, Brandon Pettigrew and Derrick Williams. Hmm. Hopefully the answer will be the latter.